Stocks jump as budget deal seems more likely

Investors responded positively to the likelihood of a budget deal in WashingtonThe Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rallying in the final hours of trading for the year as a budget deal takes shape in Washington.

The
Dow Jones industrial average jumped 166 to end at 13,104 Monday. It had
waffled through much of the morning, then shot higher at midday after
news began to emerge that negotiators were homing in on a deal.

The Dow is coming off five straight days of losses. For the year, it gained 7 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 23 to end the year at 1,426. That's a gain of 13 percent for the year.

The Nasdaq composite rose 59 to 3,019.

Rising
stocks outnumbered falling ones six to one on the New York Stock
Exchange. Trading volume was higher than in recent days, 3 billion
shares.